A panting hot basset requires immediate remedial action to avoid an all out walking strike.  For once a basset has decided it’s too hot to go further they will simply lie down in flat basset mode and refuse to move. A diversion to the river is a perfect strategy for them to be refreshed and us to avoid the embarrassment of us dragging our gravity affected hounds along in a public place.

But a drink from the river usually turns into more of a romp and an all out sniffing experience as the hounds seek discarded picnic sandwiches or a spot of sand where they can play.  Good job I had my camera with me yesterday.  From the off Fortnum had mischief on his mind.

Although I enjoy watching Fortnum and Mason as they roam free, it’s always a good policy to keep a close eye on an unleashed basset.  You never know where they’ll head off to next. You’ve got to love Big Bassets swagger and sway.

And the fact that at the drop of a hat he’ll lay down for a rest.  He looks so serious I wonder what he’s thinking.

Our little basset is up to no good as you might expect.  One minute lying quietly and the next leaping around letting his basset inhibitions run free.  There are few things more alarming than a basset moving at high speed.

Our bassets are not really water babies preferring to take a slurp or two before high tailing back out onto firmer ground.

In this case they were encouraged into a spot of basset singing.  I can’t help but see the humourous sight of basset lips trembling as they howl.

For all the high jinx there is nothing a basset likes best is to take a break in the heat of the day and take a rest.

With all the exhaustion the challenge still remains how you get a basset to pick himself and start walking again. Luckily the magic word “home” usually does the trick to lift a basset to his feet.  That and “din dins”.